Data Center Management

DATA CENTER MANAGEMENT

Course Overview

Course Overview

This five-week introductory course provides fifth-year students with a practical understanding of the fundamental components and basic management activities of a data center. The course focuses on servers, virtualization, networking, storage, backup, power, cooling, monitoring, and routine operations. The content is intentionally introductory and combines classroom explanation with guided practical labs.

Course Learning Objectives

·      Explain what a data center is and identify its main physical and logical components.

·      Recognize common server, network, storage, power, and cooling technologies.

·      Create and manage basic virtual machines for laboratory work.

·      Configure basic IP networking and perform first-line troubleshooting.

·      Explain introductory storage, RAID, backup, and recovery concepts.

·      Perform basic monitoring and operational checks.

·      Produce a simple data-center/server-room design for a small organization.

Course Schedule

Week

Main Topic

Practical Lab

·      1

·      Data Center Fundamentals

·      Rack layout and asset inventory

·      2

·      Servers & Virtualization

·      Create and manage Linux VMs

·      3

·      Data Center Networking

·      IP configuration and basic troubleshooting

·      4

·      Storage, RAID, Backup & Recovery

·      Backup and restore exercise

·      5

·      Power, Cooling, Monitoring & Operations

·      Monitoring checklist + mini-project

Suggested Assessment

·      Quizzes: 20% — terminology and core concepts.

·      Laboratory Exercises: 20% — completion, correct configuration, basic troubleshooting, and short documentation.

·      Final Project + Oral Exam: 60% — simple data-center design, appropriate components, addressing, backup and availability considerations, and presentation.